


You Know, In Hindsight...

by UnderwhelmingAlchemist



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, General Awkwardness, I wrote this in an hour, M/M, Modern Era, No Sex, No Smut, Not Beta Read, Short, literally just talking, no kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27253138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderwhelmingAlchemist/pseuds/UnderwhelmingAlchemist
Summary: Thanks to a surprisingly perceptive autobiography, Bucky makes an excellent case for a relationship.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	You Know, In Hindsight...

When Steve walked into the living room of the apartment, Bucky was sitting in one of their armchairs with a book. Or maybe ‘sitting’ was the wrong word. He was upside down, his feet on the headrest and his head a few inches above the floor. His hair was tied back in a loose ponytail so it stayed out of his face. He looked surprisingly comfortable in the awkward position.

Steve cocked his head, trying to read the title of the book. “’The Hidden Life of Captain America’?” he read aloud.

Bucky didn’t look away from the pages. “Yeah, this guy’s got some pretty interesting theories. It was written back in the nineties.”

“Interesting how?”

“They analyze your old art and try to find meaning in it and try to figure out how never meeting your dad could’ve impacted you. They asked some psychologists and try to make it all seem pretty official.”

Steve frowned. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“Eh. It’s kind of a fun read when you know it’s all bullshit. You wanna check it out?”

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Suit yourself.” Bucky was quiet for a minute, then said in a voice that seemed overly casual, “They think we were together, you know.”

Steve frowned. “Together…?”

“Gay. They think we were gay.”

Steve suddenly found himself matching Bucky’s forced relaxed tone. “What makes them think that?”

“Well they found some of your old drawings of me. You had me pose for you a lot.”

“How else was I supposed to practice anatomy?”

“And we lived together.”

“Well, a lot of guys did that.”

“You only ever dated girls when I took you on double dates.”

“Girls weren’t interested in me.”

“We were almost always together.”

“We were best friends.”

“Peggy jokingly described me as ‘jealous’ when she flirted with you in front of me.”

“You were jealous that she wasn’t flirting with _you_.”

“There’s all these pictures of us staring at each other or smiling and laughing together and people think we look closer than just friends.”

“That’s just us being best friends again.”

“And you disobeyed direct orders, had Howard Stark fly you behind enemy lines to a POW camp, stormed that POW camp on your own with a prop helmet and shield, and faced off against Nazis with superweapons because you wanted to rescue me.”

“…I…”

Bucky moved the book so it uncovered his face and Steve could see his raised eyebrow. Or technically lowered, given that he was still upside down. “No defense for that one?”

“…You saved my life more times than I can count. It was only fair that I returned the favor.”

A soft smile flitted across Bucky’s lips, then moved the book back over his face. “You know, if we were… you know, that would be fine now. Not that it wasn’t always fine. I just mean we wouldn’t be in _too_ much trouble with people if we got together. There might be some people that get pissed, but those people would be assholes, and most of the public would be fine with it. We wouldn’t get thrown in prison or anything.”

Bucky was rambling. He didn’t do that too often, and the tone he kept of strained indifference throughout all of it helped make it painfully obvious that he was anxious about what he was saying. Which made Steve a little confused. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“And if I were to hypothetically ask you to dinner, whether you said yes or no, it would be perfectly fine.”

Oh. 

Steve’s face flushed, and he tried his best to ignore the heat rising to his cheeks. “Hypothetically if you _did_ ask me, I would probably say yes.”

“You would?” Bucky sounded genuinely surprised. And a little suspicious.

“Yeah, I would. And I would ask if you wanted to go to that old diner we used to go to in the thirties and forties that’s somehow still around. And if you wanted to go at say… six tonight?”

Bucky was perfectly still for a moment, and Steve assumed the silence was him trying to judge whether or not he was joking. After a long moment, he replied.

“And I would say that works just fine for me.”

“Good. Then it’s a date.”

“…Yeah. Yeah, it’s a date.”

Bucky didn’t move his book, but Steve could hear the smile in his voice.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading something I wrote in an hour because I had a fluffy idea. I might make a second chapter with their first date, but I'm not sure yet. Feedback is always appreciated!


End file.
